


hidden

by fromthefarshore



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 05:07:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8609929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromthefarshore/pseuds/fromthefarshore
Summary: "And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places." Takao sits down next to Midorima, smiling to himself. "Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." He breathes out, leaning back on his hands and looking up. "Roald Dalh was the one who thought of these words."





	

**Author's Note:**

> It's Takao's birthday!! (at least where I live haha)  
> I wanted to try something new and different this time, so here goes a bit of magic.  
> I hope you will enjoy reading it.

The most unbelievable thing about magic was the fact that it was real. People knew about it, at least some of their subconscious parts did, and they often explained unexplainable things with one simple word - magic. Usually it resulted in smiles and laughter, no one really taking it for granted, but it didn't change the fact that it wasn't only jokes. 

"It's magic," Takao says, winking at his classmates when he's asked how he's getting along with Midorima Shintarou so well. "I don't really know how it happened myself, so it must be magic, right?" He laughs, explaining the unexplainable, and his classmates laugh in reply. 

"We could use a bit of that magic ourselves," one of them says, letting out a silent sigh, and Takao hums. They could, but the thing is, none of them actually believe in magic, and that's the problem. 

"Maybe I'm just special." Takao shrugs, jumping from his seat and spinning around as he walks between the desks in the classroom. His classmates laugh once again, not taking Takao's words seriously. One day some of them might understand that Takao's words are true; some of them who will get a bit of their own magic as well. 

He meets Midorima on the roof, surrounded by dozens of butterflies which manifested when Midorima heard that a butterfly was Cancer's lucky item for today. A transparent scarf appears on Takao's neck when he steps closer to Midorima, and he guesses it must be a lucky item for a Scorpio. 

" _And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places_." Takao sits down next to Midorima, smiling to himself. " _Those who don't believe in magic will never find it_." He breathes out, leaning back on his hands and looking up. "Roald Dalh was the one who thought of these words." 

"And your daily quotes app was the one that enlightened you," Midorima adds with a scoff. "I thought you were not joining me today." 

"I always join you," Takao says, tilting his head to meet Midorima's eyes. "Do you think most of the people don't see magical stuff because they simply don't believe in it?" 

One of the butterflies land on Takao's knee, but when Takao glances at it, it becomes a flower. Its' colourless petals disappear in the wind though, and Takao smiles. It's wondrous how Midorima's and his magic come together. 

"I suppose sometimes it might be the case," Midorima says. "However, I reckon that the main reason is them simply being blind to it." 

"That's harsh," Takao groans, lying down on his back and crossing his arms over his chest. The sun is shining right into his eyes, so he closes them. He thinks about sunglasses and umbrella, but doesn't bother with trying to manifest them out of his aura. Even if they appeared, being transparent, they wouldn't do any good. 

"It's simply the truth," Midorima says with a soft sigh. "Some people never see it or see it too faintly to understand what it is. Their auras are not awakened to magic." 

"Mine got awakened when I successfully did a backflip with new sneakers and thought they had magic within. I actually believed it back then and somehow it worked. So it's all connected to whether you believe in magic or not." 

Midorima laughs at this, and it makes Takao open his eyes, his smile widening a little bit as well. He meets Midorima's eyes for a second before the other looks away, blowing at the butterfly in front of his face. It disappears, but instead a new one appears a bit further away. 

"It's an interesting phenomenon though. I don't really understand how exactly all of this happens." Midorima nibbles on his lips, squaring his shoulders. "I mean, it doesn't work if you just tell someone that you can see and perform a bit of magic. It's as if the words disappear in the thin air before a person can comprehend the meaning of it. As if the words are made out of our aura as well." 

"Strange, isn't it?" Takao wonders out loud, sitting up again. In the distance he sees faint transparent fireworks blowing out in the blue sky. It's somewhere around his home; it seems that his sister can't wait for firework festivals to begin in the summer and decided to have a little show herself. 

Midorima is looking at the same sky, however, Takao knows that he doesn't see the fireworks. 

"Maybe there's meaning to this. It's said that usually you only see the magic that matters to you," Midorima says. There's uncertainty in his words, but Takao can't hear a note of it in his voice. It's a bit magical how Midorima always sounds so confident in what he says. 

Takao waits until the fireworks disappear from the sky, at the same time feeling some kind of fireworks going out in his head. He blinks a few times to get rid of those as well. Then, he reaches to touch one of Midorima's butterflies just to see it turn into a flower again. 

"But how's my magic important to you?" he finally asks. Midorima looks at him, their eyes meeting. Thoughtlessly, Takao makes a few question marks appear between them, but when Midorima looks at them, they disappear. 

"I never thought about it," he admits. 

\- 

"Mom? Are there any kind of rules to whose magic you can see?" Takao asks, shoving rice into his mouth. His mom hums, thinking. 

"Well, usually it's your family or very close friends. People who you are connected to you in some way. Do you see someone else's magic?" 

Takao nods, swallowing his rice and taking a deep breath. He shrugs, putting down the chopsticks and crossing his arms over the chest. 

"But it's not family and not a close friend." He furrows his eyebrows, pouting. An idea crosses his mind and suddenly he feels his cheeks getting warmer. He clears his throat. "Can it be like... like, a soulmate? Did you see dad's magic when you met?" 

His mom laughs, reaching to mess up his hair. 

"My dear, that's not how it works. Magic doesn't show you who is your chosen person. You start seeing magic because of the bond you form, when you are comfortable enough for that person to see you for who you are as sometimes magic manifests without your approval." 

"But what about believing in magic? I mean, you can't see magic at all if you don't believe in it, right?" he asks, trying to figure out how exactly it all works. He's been seeing magic for a while now, but until meeting Midorima, it never made him question how exactly it works. Up until now he could see only his family members' magic. 

"That's true. But those are not the rules that can be applied all the time. Sometimes a person can believe in magic, but be blind to in nevertheless. Sometimes they don't believe in it _enough_. Sometimes a person can manifest magic but can't see others do it because they don't believe in it, no matter how strong the bond is. Magic is magical on its own. You can't put it all into the words, it will never fully make sense. All you can do is guess." She looks at him, expecting to hear some kind of answer, but Takao stays silent. He simply nods, slowly and with uncertainty. Then, he takes his chopsticks and shoves rice into his mouth again so that he would be occupied with doing something. His mom lets out a sigh. Her eyes are soft and her little smile is a bit worried, but she doesn't say anything more. 

\- 

The conversations about magic die away and somehow Takao lets himself forget about it. There's no good in empty guesses and the more he thinks about it, the more complicated it gets. Both him and Midorima got used to seeing each other's magic fast, and Takao doesn't find himself wondering "why?" anymore. Instead, he shifts all of his attention to school and after class activities. 

He joins music club. He can't play any instrument, and his singing voice isn't the best, but he's not the only one like this. There are music instruments in the club room and seniors teach how to play them, but mostly they just listen to music while talking about this and that, and sometimes they hit the karaoke bars after school. 

Midorima also joins the music club, but a different one. It's all about classical music there and they practise seriously, preparing for the performance at the school festival. Midorima plays the piano and sometimes Takao sees transparent notes around him. They always come in some specific order, neatly just like in music sheets that Takao never fully understood. Meanwhile, the notes that manifest out of Takao's aura are messy like his handwriting, random. They don't make any sense, but Midorima has never commented on it. 

It's only weeks later that Midorima brings up the topic again. It's the last day before the summer holidays, and later Takao wonders if Midorima was waiting for it since the beginning. 

"What if we see each other's magic because of... general magic?" he asks, his eyes following the simplified transparent hawk that is flying above Takao's head. Takao furrows his eyebrows, letting out a hum. 

"What do you mean?" 

Midorima clears his throat and when Takao shifts his eyes, he sees the other looking somewhere in the distance, his cheeks dusted with pink. 

"I mean," Midorima starts, his voice a bit hushed, "We are absolutely different, but we get along? I'm not friends with anyone else similar to you and you don't hang out with my type of people," he says, playing with a plaster on his index finger of his left hand. Takao remembers him cutting it yesterday on paper. 

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't explain it? I don't really follow you." 

Midorima takes a deep breath. 

"Lately I've been thinking about this a lot and everything goes back to one thing. A wish, to be exact." 

The hawk above Takao's head disappears when he loses the last bits of concentration on it. 

"A wish?" 

"It's the only way I can explain it, at least from my part. Before entering high school, I had this thought that could have been interpreted as a wish. I wondered if I would make any friends here and-" 

"I thought the same," Takao interrupts, suddenly jumping on his feet, "I prayed I get a friend on the first day," he confesses. Midorima looks up, meeting Takao's eyes. His cheeks are still slightly red and it makes Takao wonder if Midorima's skin is sensitive to the sun. He's never noticed it before. 

"Maybe that's the reason? Our wishes were similar, so magic worked on it."Midorima furrows his eyebrows, thinking about something. He licks his lips and adds, "That would actually explain how we and our magic are important to each other." 

Takao laughs, his laughter light and carefree, the sound of it getting lost in the wind. He squats down, leaning forward and placing his hands on Midorima's knees. 

"Of course!" he says, smiling. "It all makes sense! Shin-chan, you're amazing!" 

Midorima's eyes widen. 

"Shut up," he mutters and he pushes Takao away. He's not laughing, his lips in a tight line as if this realization brings him some kind of uneasiness. He starts playing with the plaster on his finger again, and when Takao looks up at Midorimas face again, the redness on his cheeks has spread to his ears and the back of his neck. 

It's a blush. 

"Oh." 

Midorima turns his head, their eyes meeting. His breath hitches and abruptly he grabs his bag. 

"I have to go," he says and he leaves. 

Takao doesn't move. His mind is empty, but at the same time there's a question in bold letters graved somewhere in that emptiness. 

_Since when?_

\- 

Usually quick to go summer days stretch out, and Takao can't decide if he wants them to pass faster or to stop altogether. He tries to keep his thoughts away from the topic of Midorima, but they don't listen, especially at night when he's trying to fall asleep. 

He thinks about their first meeting, he remembers the moment he saw Midorima's magic and Midorima saw his as well. Now Takao wonders if Midorima has liked him since then. 

"Is everything alright?" 

When Takao looks up, his mom is standing in front of him with a plate of watermelon. She has that little worried, but tender smile on her face. Takao moves over, letting her sit down next to him. She places the plate on the low table and gently pats Takao's head. He leans into the touch and brings his arms around her. 

"It's Midorima's magic that I see," he mutters, purposefully making the words difficult to understand, but his mom gets him anyway. 

"Oh?" Her hand slides down and starts rubbing Takao's back. "He doesn't seem to be the type to believe in magic." 

"He doesn't seem to be the type to easily fall in love as well, but apparently he is." The words escape Takao's lips fast, with a flow to it, and in the air a small transparent rabbit appears. 

"And what's the problem?" his mom asks, and as if she's reading Takao's mind, a slightly different, more detailed rabbit appears next to Takao's one not to let it feel lonely. 

"You told me seeing magic doesn't make you soulmates or anything, but I feel like-" 

"Seeing it doesn't mean you are soulmates," she interrupts. "But it doesn't mean it doesn't affect your relationship," she pulls slightly away, taking Takao's hands in hers and looking at him. "Soulmates are people who share the same aura and it happens very rarely. Only when they are together, they can see and perform magic." 

"Well, whatever then. Not soulmates. Something else," he averts his eyes. "You know what I mean." 

His mom laughs and suddenly she pulls him into a tight hug. 

"Don't think about magic. Magic doesn't do anything on its own, it doesn't make anything new. It simply makes things stronger, more vivid. It pushes things forward. If you feel something, it was meant to happen anyway, it didn't appear only because of magic." 

"Why is everything so complicated?" Takao grunts and his mom lets out a soft hum. 

"No one knows." 

\- 

When the classes start, Midorima is avoiding Takao. It's not too obvious for their classmates to notice, but enough for Takao to understand it's not only him imagining things. 

He spends time with other classmates instead or hangs out with people from his circle, however, whenever Midorima is in the same room, Takao's eyes linger on him. He wants to interfere with Midorima's little magic, wants to tease him just to see the way his expressions change on his face. Sometimes, he tries to imagine hugging Midorima, holding his hand or kissing him. He tries to think of how would it feel like, how would his body and mind react to it, but he can never come up with the final answer. 

He wonders, what would he say if Midorima confessed. 

He's brought back to his senses when the teachers calls him to read the next passage from the textbook. It's a sentence written in classic Japanese and Takao pauses for a moment when he can't remember how to read the kanji character. He lifts his eyes, ready to ask the teacher, but instead he sees the reading manifested in front of his eyes, transparent symbols in the neat handwriting of Midorima. 

He clears his throat and reads the sentence. When he sits down again, Midorima tilts his head, their eyes meeting for a second. Takao beams. 

\- 

"Thanks," Takao says, slowing down when he finally catches up with Midorima in the hallway. "My mind got blank there for a moment," he explains, getting a puff in reply. 

"Maybe the reading appeared without my interference," Midorima says and Takao laughs. 

"Yeah, of course." Takao pouts, bringing his arms behind his head and casting Midorima a look. "Then why does it never appear during tests, huh?" 

Midorima snorts, fighting a little smile of his own. 

"So you were checking?" he asks, turning at the stairs which lead to the rooftop. Takao follows. 

"Just a little bit," he confesses with a silly laugh. "But not because I don't know the answers," he adds with a roll of his eyes just to tease Midorima now that the opportunity presents itself. He doesn't know why, but Midorima doesn't seem to be ignoring him today. Maybe it has something to do with his luck. 

Midorima pushes the door, sparing Takao a glance when he follows suit. 

"Why bother looking then?" he asks again, going round the corner to their usual spot. Little pieces of the puzzle start manifesting in the air, creating an image of a small bird that cocks its head to the side and then suddenly spreads its wings to fly up into the sky. Takao follows it with his eyes until the bird disappears, and only then he looks back at Midorima. 

"Because I enjoy your magic," he says, sitting down. "I like it." 

Midorima stills for a moment, clenching his fingers into a half-fist and unclenching them again. The smile is gone from his face and he clears his throat. 

Takao belatedly realises the impact of his words. 

"Oh," the sound escapes his lips, but this time his mind works faster than the last time. "I didn't-" 

"You didn't mean it like that, I know," Midorima interrupts and he lets out a heavy sigh. "I know." 

Takao watches him take his lunch box and carefully open the lid of it. Midorima looks somewhere in the distance, maybe seeing someone else's magic as well, while he grabs the chopsticks, reaching for the food in his box without looking, sure of his movements. 

Takao takes a deep breath. 

"How can you be so sure?" his voice comes out a bit angrier than he wanted to, but at least it makes Midorima stop and turn his eyes to Takao. 

"Excuse me?" 

Takao lets out a groan, and he feels how the things coming to his mind are starting to appear in the air as well. There's a same bird that he saw moments ago, just a simpler version of it, readings from the class, butterflies, music notes, sculpture of tanuki, little frogs he saw around Midorima the other day, and every other thing that his eyes caught on while being around Midorima. They're appearing and disappearing, just like his thoughts, and Midorima blinks at him, confused. 

"You don't know anything," Takao says and takes a deep breath, trying to stop the chain of images in his head. He thinks about the colour green both because it's supposed to have a calming effect and because he knows that colours can't be manifested anyway. "So stop pretending you do." 

Midorima is looking at him, his mouth in a tight line. He puts away his lunch box and chopsticks, without looking again, and Takao bites on his lip to suppress another groan. 

"I like _you_ ," Midorima says, his voice hushed, and Takao opens his mouth to argue again before he realises what Midorima's just said. 

"Not only your magic," Midorima adds, and now it's Takao who blinks, surprised. 

He knew that Midorima probably has a crush on him, he knew what they're talking about now and where it's going, but actually hearing the words leave Midorima's mouth is different than what Takao's been imagining all this time. 

It makes his heart flutter. It makes him go back to the imagines of holding Midorima's hands, of hugging him and kissing his lips, and somehow, just like back in the classroom, now Midorima makes the answer appear in front of his eyes again. 

Takao doesn't know if he likes Midorima the same way Midorima likes him. He doesn't know if the flutter inside his chest is only because of the sudden confession or it's his body giving an answer to that. He does know though that he's not against all of that, he knows that hearing Midorima confess makes him feel somewhat happy, for it wasn't just him imagining that Midorima has a crush on him. 

He looks at Midorima, at his slightly worried and flustered face, the faint redness on his cheeks, at a transparent magic tree slowly growing above Midorima, and he smiles. 

He doesn't know if it will work out, but at this moment, Takao knows that the final answer is that he wants to try all of those things. 

He opens his mouth and he says, 

"Let's go on a date." 

\- - - 

Takao manifests a flower in front of Midorima and gives him a wide, silly smile. 

"So after all you're joining me here," he says, watching Midorima blow at the flower for it to disappear, and sit down next to him. He takes out his books and leans back against the wall, glancing at Takao. 

"There are too many people in the library and they keep on asking me to explain things," he says with a sigh. "It's frustrating." 

"Everyone's preparing for the entrance exams and you're the top of the class. It's only fair," Takao hums, his hand reaching to touch Midorima's knee. He lets his fingers linger for a few seconds before pulling it back. Midorima snorts and puts his books away, turning to Takao. 

"You should do that as well," he says, and Takao nudges him with his elbow. 

"Oh yeah? Is that why you came here?" he chuckles, leaning close to Midorima. Midorima lets out a soft laugh at this and he flicks Takao's forehead. 

"I'm not going to show you the answers with my magic during exams," he whispers and Takao _boo_ es. 

"Such a waste of our bond," he mutters, but he's grinning, and it makes Midorima laugh again. Takao touches his arm, lifting his head to meet Midorima's eyes. "Hey, Shintarou? Can I kiss you?" 

Midorima lets out a puff. 

"It's been over two years, you don't have to ask anymore." 

Takao hums and then he leans forward, pressing his lips against Midorima's. He's lost count of their kisses, their hugs, and their touches. They're more relaxed now, less careful, but after all this time everything still feels a bit wondrous, a bit magical. 

"Alright, now it's study time," Midorima says when they pull away. He takes one of his books and slips his fingers in between the pages to open the bookmarked one. The book is well used and the edges of the pages are not sharp enough to cut Midorima's fingers, but it still makes Takao mentally check if he has bandages in the pocket of his bag. He smiles to himself at this, and Midorima lifts his eyes to look at him. "Is everything alright?" 

Takao nods and he takes a deep breath. 

"It is," he says, watching Midorima with glittering eyes. It's a bit like looking at the greatest secret, hidden from everyone else, and Takao wonders if he would have ever found it if he didn't believe in magic. He smiles again, and he bumps his shoulder against Midorima's. 

"Everything's perfect." 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope they didn't feel too much out of character, I wanted to imagine them in a different setting and acting slightly differently than they do in canon verse. I have to admit, I had some trouble with putting the ideas into the words, and creating the story, wrapping it up and not getting too carried away. I leave it to you to decide if it was of any success.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
